Re: [Celtic_Pride] Peter May's Letter to Pitino

["Kestas" <Kestutis.Kveraga@dartmouth.edu>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>
To: <Celtic_Pride@egroups.com>; <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 23:17
Subject: Re: [Celtic_Pride] Peter May's Letter to Pitino


> I know I am in the minority on this list, but I am a big boy and can take
> the heat which will surely come.  It is not my habit to make fun of
someone
> who knows as much about basketball as Pitino.  Red has praised him.
Russell
> has praised him.  It is not all his fault.  Somewhere along the line, the
> players must be held accountable for their own shortcomings
> This team needs to be patient and work the ball more for good shots.  Do
you
> really think that Pitino is happy that they settle for the threes?  I
don't
> think so.  Because a player is selfish enough to think he is capable of
> making them (Toine/Pierce) does that mean they have tuned him out?  I
don't
> think so.  It all comes back to maturity as I have mentioned in the past.
> I'm ready.  Fire away.

OK, you asked for it :) You make some valid points, but you're missing the
main thing, IMO. It doesn't matter that he knows a lot about basketball.
Even assuming his bball philosophy works in the NBA, if he can't impart it
on his players, it doesn't matter. Coaching is not just having basketball
knowledge, as you should know better than just about anyone on this list.

Blaming the players for the team's directionless play is like blaming a car
for going into the ditch after the driver has lost control of it. You're
basically asking us to believe that we have the 15 most uncoachable,
immature players in the NBA, and that's just improbable. Sure, the players
are accountable for the stupid plays, bad defense, not running the fast
break etc. to some extent. But it's the COACH's job to get them NOT to do
these things most of the time. Pitino may not be happy about their doing it,
but that doesn't change the fact that he hasn't pushed the right buttons to
get them to perform the way he wants. It's HIS FAULT. The fact that the
Celtics do not have talent at all the positions  is irrelevant - most teams
don't, and after all, we're not expecting them to win the championship or
even advance to the second round of the playoffs - just basic competent play
GIVEN their talent level.

Now let's look at the situation: the Celtics are the worst defensive team in
the NBA - again. They're also the worst at running fast break - in four
years I could count the number of times they executed a fast break properly
on one hand. They don't even try to run it now, because they know it just
ain't gonna happen. Why, after four years of being coached by the Greatest
Coach in the universe, they still can't execute a simple fastbreak? Are they
really so dumb, lazy, and unathletic that they can't be taught that? Are
they less mature than the Warriors, the Bulls, or the Clippers, who, like
any other team in the NBA and most teams in college and HS, can execute a
4-on-1?

Speaking of maturity, there's not a player in our regular rotation who has
been in the NBA less than 3 years (Walker, Pierce, Anderson, Stith, Battie,
Pot, Brown, Williams). The mean NBA experience of this group is 5.5 years,
not counting this year. Are the Warriors,  featuring 2 rookies and 2
third-year players  in their starting lineup, more mature? Have they not
been beset by injuries? Yet the teams' records are similar (despite the
Warriors' playing in the much tougher Western conference), and GS had no
problem beating up on us on our home court.

I have a hunch that if the teams switched coaches, we'd be right in the
playoff mix after thumping the lowly GS, and there'd be more whining coming
out the Warriors' locker room than during the chainsaw event in a lumberjack
competition. "We're a young, immature team... and young teams just don't
execute down the stretch...the NBA eats its young...it's just the way it
is...not to mention that...due to injuries, we've the lost the rebounding of
Danny Fortson... the scoring and defense of Chris Mills.. people we just
HAVE to have playing for us to be able to compete with older, more mature
teams like the Boston Celtics..".